Teen forced to have mastectomy after breast cancer misdiagnosed as 'infection'

BRAVE: A 19-year-old was forced to have a mastectomy after her cancer was misdiagnosed [NORTH]

A performing arts student was forced to have a mastectomy at just 19 years old after her cancer went undiagnosed for two years.

Morag McTiernan, now 21, had her right breast removed after her tumour was misdiagnosed as a milk duct infection.

The brave young women from Middlesbrough believes the reason her cancer went undetected was due to her age and wants to warn girls that while it is incredibly rare, cancer could affect them too.

FAMILY: Morag's parents are taking part in the Great North Run this weekend for North East's Teenage Cancer Trust [NORTH]

Morag first noticed something was wrong when she experienced pain in her breast and later noticed some unusual discharge, but her GP reassured her that is was just an 'infection'.

“It was horrible news, I would have done anything to avoid that surgery”

Morag McTiernan

However, after the pain got so intense she was finding it difficult to move, she sought a second opinion.

"It got so bad that I couldn't dance and I kept just thinking, they said this was normal, it's nothing serious. But I was wrong," she said.

"I went to a different GP and explained to them about my pain and the so-called 'infection', they put me at ease, explained that it was probably nothing to worry about but referred me to the a specialist breast clinic for tests."

Just two days later Morag got the news that she had breast cancer, nearly two years after the pain had started.

"I should probably have been more shocked but I was kind of expecting it, I knew something was really wrong," she said.

Once the diagnosis was confirmed she was referred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle where they have a teenage cancer unit for a lumpectomy.

And a week later she was given the devastating news that she would have to undergo an operation to remove her entire right breast.

She said: "I was told that it was more complicated than they first thought and that the cancer was bigger than they had expected and so I had to have a mastectomy.

"It was horrible news, I would have done anything to avoid that surgery I immediately began to worry, would I ever feel attractive again? Was I losing part of my womanhood?

"I was dead against it from the start but I knew that the surgeon knew best and I had to put my faith in the people who were trying to help me. It's not ideal, but the operation did take away the cancer and that's what's important."

But the inspirational young woman admits that she feels the operation could have been prevented has she been diagnosed earlier.

Morag said: "I can't help but think that if I had been an older lady who had the same symptoms my GP would have thought about cancer.

"There were two years between the pain starting and eventually being diagnosed. Who knows how much the cancer could have grown in that time. I might have been able to keep my breast if it was diagnosed sooner."

STRONG: Morag says the ordeal has made her a stronger person [NORTH]

Now Morag has recovered from her surgery and has undergone a course of radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

She is looking forward to a bright future and is returning to university in Sunderland in September, but said that her attitude to life has changed.

"I don't make plans any more, you literally never know what life is going to throw at you so there isn't much point," she said. "The cancer has definitely made me a stronger person and it has taught me to accept whatever life has in store for me."

Dr Mark Verrill, consultant medical oncologist at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, said: "Breast cancer in young women is exceptionally rare. The chance of being diagnosed in this age bracket is one in 500,000, with the majority of cases being seen in much older women."

Morag's parents, Mhairi, 53 and Peter, 57, are running the Great North Run this weekend to thank the North East's Teenage Cancer Trust for their support with their daughter.